Blog

A hard day and night's work to reach a budget for Europe's citizens

It was a hard day and night's work, to paraphrase the Beatles. But after 18 hours of non-stop negotiations – and several nail-biting moments when it looked as if the night would end in disaster – a deal was finally struck at exactly ten to four in the morning. After all the pressure which had ebbed and flowed through the corridors of the Council building the relief was palpable.

One in eight – in support of those fighting breast cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is happening right now, with events across the world to raise consciousness about a terrible blight which affects one in eight women. I lose count of the number of people I know who have had family or friends taken from them by breast cancer. I have as well.

Why the numbers matter

It's been an important week for the Europe. When isn't it, I hear you ask! But sometimes it's harder to see just how important when it is obscured by a stream of big-number announcements – the "not being able to see the wood for the trees" effect.

The Glass Ceiling

Theresa May and Angela Merkel got there first, but like many in Europe, I was moved when Hillary Clinton stood up and pronounced the "glass ceiling" finally shattered with her nomination as the Democrat candidate for US President.

A year has flown by since the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted – and what a year it was for breakthrough agreements, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris deal on climate change. With luck by 2030 we will look back and reflect on how important 2015 was to making our planet more resilient and more sustainable in the face of the multiple and complex challenges it faces.

Emergency Action

In the Belly of the Beast - Building the EU budget

This evening we start the first 'trilogue' discussions on the EU budget for 2016, with EU Member States and the Parliament. They are ready to negotiate now following their deliberations on the Commission proposal that I presented in late May.

Planting the seeds for a safer future

I just returned to Sendai in Japan to attend the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. I have been invited by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as one of three UN Global Champions for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), along with former President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, and former President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.